Menopausal symptoms, menopausal stage and cognitive functioning in black urban African women

Objective: Studies, conducted largely in North America and Europe, demonstrate that menopausal symptoms and menopausal stage influence cognitive function. Here, we evaluate these associations in a large cohort of sub-Saharan African women, a population where these associations are understudied. We h...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society 2020-01, Vol.23 (1), p.38-45
Main Authors: Jaff, N. G., Rubin, L. H., Crowther, N. J., Norris, S. A., Maki, P. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
African Continental Ancestry Group
anxiety
Black people
cognition
Cognition - physiology
Cognitive ability
cross-cultural
Cross-Sectional Studies
Health risk assessment
Hot Flashes - etiology
Humans
Information processing
Longitudinal Studies
Menopausal symptoms
Menopause
Menopause - physiology
Menopause - psychology
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
South Africa
Surveys and Questionnaires
Urban Population
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: Studies, conducted largely in North America and Europe, demonstrate that menopausal symptoms and menopausal stage influence cognitive function. Here, we evaluate these associations in a large cohort of sub-Saharan African women, a population where these associations are understudied. We hypothesized that premenopausal women would show better cognitive performance than women later in the transition, and that menopausal symptoms would be inversely related to cognition. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 702 black urban South African women between the ages of 40 and 60 years from the Study of Women Entering and in Endocrine Transition. Participants completed the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, a measure of processing speed and incidental recall. Menopausal stage was ascertained using the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop+ 10 criteria and symptoms using the Menopause Rating Scale. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to examine adjusted associations between menopausal stage and menopausal symptoms on cognitive performance. Results: In adjusted analyses, menopausal stage was not associated with processing speed (p = 0.35) or incidental recall (p = 0.64). However, more severe symptoms of hot flushes and anxiety were associated with slower processing speed (all p 
ISSN:1369-7137
1473-0804
DOI:10.1080/13697137.2019.1646719